MommaReads

My own kids are slowly growing out of me reading them pictures books, but when they were younger I would sometimes pick up a book at the library that wasn’t just a story with pictures, but a story that was actually a song…a story meant to be sung. Our oldest liked these books, our youngest did not. Our youngest would politely say, “Just read it, Mom.” Well, this is one of those books. A very cute story about a bunch of aardvark angels that help the post office get all of the Christmas mail to all the corners of the earth and, yes, you have to sing it. 🙂

All Bear wants to do is help decorate the tree, but Papa won’t let him. This is the perfect book for toddlers and preschoolers who are always wanting to help, but are always being told they are too small or aren’t allowed to help because they might break something. Bear leaves the room in tears, but Papa finds a very special job for Bear that leaves everyone smiling.

Mom and Dad leave Carl (the dog) in charge of the baby while they go to church and then onto Grandma’s. While Mom and Dad are away, Carl and the baby go on an adventure into town where they win a Christmas basket and give to the poor…even Santa stops by while the baby is asleep. Carl books are great picks for little ones as they often come in board book form and they usually don’t have a lot of words. They are great books to look at and talk about the pictures and since there aren’t any words, the story can be a little different every time you “read” it.

I am not a person who thinks about Christmas before Thanksgiving. I don’t even shop for Christmas before Thanksgiving, but I saw this book and I knew I had to share it with you and now the library wants it back, so I guess I will share it with you now. Poor llama is having a VERY hard time waiting for Christmas to roll around…all of the shopping and decorating and baking, but still no Christmas. Mama reminds llama that this time of year is not about the gifts, but about being with the ones that care about you. All of Dewdney’s llama books are very cute and this one is no exception. If your child has a hard time waiting, whether it be for a birthday, the holidays or something else, then they will completely relate to poor llama.

The firefighters are trying to make their Thanksgiving dinner, but they have to keep leaving to go fight fires. At the end of the day after coming and going and coming and going many times, they arrive back at the fire station to find that some very nice people have brought all of the firefighters a Thanksgiving dinner. If you have a little one that loves firefighters, then this is the perfect Thanksgiving book for your family.

It is time for Little Pink Pig to go to bed and his mother can’t find him anywhere. She asks the cow and the horse and the chickens and the sheep, but no one seems to be able to see him or hear him. Your children will love this book because they know exactly where the pig is the whole time. It’s fun for children to know something that the characters in the story don’t know. 🙂 Your child will also love this book if they are into animals and animal sounds right now.

All the birds in the trees are making so much noise and owl just wants to sleep. The moon finally comes up and the birds go to sleep. Now guess who’s making all of the noise. This is a cute tale if you have a little one who is into making animals sounds. I also love that it has a repetitive line that runs throughout the story…this is a great feature to have a in a book for little ones who are learning how to read, for children to be able to participate in the story and for giving children a purpose for listening. They listen more attentively because they know “their part” is coming up.

I know there was a time in our house when this book would have been read ALL.THE.TIME. If your kids are going through that toddler/preschool phase where they LOVE all things animals or if they are into making animals sounds, then this is the book for you. I also love that it rhymes and the illustrations are so warm and soft.

Another great addition to Karma Wilson’s Bear books. Bear gets lost in the woods and as the sun starts to set and the winds start to blow things get scarier and scarier. Meanwhile, back at the lair, Bear’s friends start to worry about him. They set off to look for him and they all end up back together in Bear’s warm lair all cuddled up together safe and snug.

An adorable counting and rhyming book that is the perfect match for the Halloween season.

Over in the hollow,
where the bats dip and dive,
lives a furry grandma bat
and her little batties five.

So they flap
and they flutter
where the bats
dip and dive.